NogossipaboutMr.Casaubon'swillhadyetreachedLadislaw:theairseemed tobefilledwiththedissolutionofParliamentandthecomingelection, as the old wakes and fairs were filled with the rivalclatter of itinerant shows; and more privatenoisesweretakenlittlenoticeof.Thefamous"dryelection"wasathand, in which the depths of public feeling might be measured by the low flood-mark of drink.WillLadislawwasoneof the busiest at this time; and though Dorothea's widowhoodwascontinuallyinhisthought,he was so far from wishing to be spokentoonthesubject, that when Lydgate sought him out to tell him what had passed about the Lowick living, he answered rather waspishly--

"Whyshouldyoubringmeintothematter? I never see Mrs. Casaubon, and am notlikelytoseeher,sincesheisatFreshitt. I never go there. It is Tory ground, whereIandthe`Pioneer'arenomorewelcome than a poacher and his gun."

The fact was that Will had been made the more susceptible by observing that Mr. Brooke,insteadofwishinghim,asbefore,tocometotheGrangeoftenerthan wasquiteagreeabletohimself,seemednowtocontrivethatheshouldgothere aslittleaspossible.Thiswasashuffling concession of Mr. Brooke's to Sir James Chettam'sindignantremonstrance;andWill,awake to the slightest hint in this direction, concluded that he was to be kept away from the Grange on Dorothea's account.Herfriends,then,regardedhimwith some suspicion? Their fears were quitesuperfluous:theywereverymuchmistakeniftheyimagined that he would puthimselfforwardasaneedyadventurertryingtowinthefavorofarich woman.

Until now Will had never fully seen thechasm between himself and Dorothea-- untilnowthathewascometothebrinkofit,andsawheronthe other side. He began,notwithoutsomeinwardrage, tothinkofgoingawayfromthe neighborhood: it would be impossible for him to show any further interest in Dorotheawithoutsubjectinghimselftodisagreeableimputations--perhapseven inhermind,whichothersmighttrytopoison.

"We are forever divided," said Will. "I might as well be at Rome; she would be no fartherfromme."Butwhatwecallourdespair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope. There were plenty of reasons why he should not go--public reasonswhyheshouldnotquithispostat this crisis, leaving Mr. Brooke in the lurchwhenheneeded"coaching"fortheelection,andwhentherewassomuch canvassing,directandindirect,tobecarried on. Will could not like to leave his ownchessmenintheheatofagame;andanycandidate on the right side, even if hisbrainandmarrowhadbeenassoftaswasconsistentwith a gentlemanly bearing, might help to turn a majority. To coach Mr. Brooke and keep him steadilytotheideathathemustpledgehimselftovoteforthe actual Reform Bill, insteadofinsistingonhisindependenceandpower of pulling up in time, was not aneasytask.Mr.Farebrother'sprophecyofa fourth candidate "in the bag" had notyetbeenfulfilled,neithertheParliamentary Candidate Society nor any other power on the watch to secure a reforming majority seeing a worthy nodus for interference while there was a secondreforming candidate like Mr. Brooke, who might be returned at his own expense; and the fight lay entirely between PinkertontheoldTorymember,Bagsterthe new Whig member returned at the last election, and Brooke the future independent member, who was to fetter himselfforthisoccasiononly.Mr.Hawleyandhispartywouldbendalltheir forcestothereturnofPinkerton,andMr.Brooke'ssuccessmustdependeither on plumpers which would leave Bagster in the rear, or on the new minting of Tory votesintoreformingvotes.Thelattermeans,ofcourse,wouldbepreferable.

This prospect of converting votes was a dangerous distraction to Mr. Brooke: his impressionthatwavererswerelikelyto bealluredbywaveringstatements,and alsotheliabilityofhismindtostickafresh at opposing arguments as they turned upinhismemory,gaveWillLadislawmuchtrouble.

"Youknowtherearetacticsinthesethings," said Mr. Brooke; "meeting people half-way--temperingyourideas--saying,`Wellnow,there'ssomethinginthat,' andsoon.Iagreewithyouthatthisis a peculiar occasion--the country with a will ofitsown--politicalunions--thatsortof thing--but we sometimes cut with rather too sharp a knife, Ladislaw. These ten-pound householders, now: why ten? Draw thelinesomewhere--yes:butwhyjustatten? That's a difficultquestion, now, if yougointoit."

"Ofcourseitis,"saidWill,impatiently."But if you are to wait till we get a logical Bill,youmustputyourselfforwardasarevolutionist,andthenMiddlemarch wouldnotelectyou,Ifancy.Asfortrimming,thisisnotatimefortrimming."

Mr.BrookealwaysendedbyagreeingwithLadislaw, who still appeared to him a sort of Burke with a leaven of Shelley; butafter an interval the wisdom of his own methodsreasserteditself,andhewasagain drawn into using them with much hopefulness.Atthisstage of affairs he was in excellentspirits,whicheven supported him under large advances of money; for his powers of convincing and persuadinghadnotyetbeen,testedbyanything more difficult than a chairman's speechintroducingotherorators,oradialoguewithaMiddlemarch voter, from whichhecameawaywithasensethathewas a tactician by nature, and that it was a pity he had not gone earlier into this kind of thing. He was a little conscious ofdefeat,however,withMr.Mawmsey,achief representative in Middlemarch of thatgreatsocialpower,theretailtrader,andnaturallyoneofthe most doubtful voters in the borough--willing for his ownpart to supply an equal quality of teas andsugarstoreformerandanti-reformer,aswellastoagreeimpartiallywith both,andfeelingliketheburgesses of old that this necessity of electing members wasagreatburthentoatown;foreveniftherewerenodangerinholdingout hopes to all parties beforehand,there would be the painful necessity at last of disappointingrespectable people whose nameswereonhisbooks.Hewas accustomed to receive large orders fromMr. Brooke of Tipton; but then, there weremanyofPinkerton'scommitteewhose opinions had a great weight of groceryontheirside.Mr.Mawmseythinkingthat Mr. Brooke, as not too "clever in hisintellects,"wasthemorelikelytoforgive a grocer who gave a hostile vote underpressure,hadbecomeconfidentialinhisbackparlor.

"AstoReform,sir,putitin a family light," he said, rattling the small silver in his pocket,andsmilingaffably."Willit support Mrs. Mawmsey, and enable her to bring up six children when I am no more? I put the question FICTIOUSLY, knowing what must be the answer. Very well, sir. I ask you what, as a husband and a father, I am to do when gentlemen come to me and say, `Do as you like, Mawmsey;butifyouvoteagainstus,Ishall get my groceries elsewhere: when I sugarmyliquorIliketofeelthatI ambenefitingthecountrybymaintaining tradesmenoftherightcolor.' Those very words have been spoken to me, sir, in the very chair where you are now sitting.I don't mean by your honorable self, Mr. Brooke."

"Well,youknow,Mr.Mawmsey,youwouldfind it the right thing to put yourself on ourside.ThisReformwilltoucheverybody by-and-by-- a thoroughly popular measure--asortofA,B, C, you know, that must come first before the rest can follow. I quite agree with you that you've got to look at the thing in a family light: but public spirit, now. We're all one family, you know-- it's all one cupboard. Such a thing as a vote, now: why, it may help to make men's fortunes at the Cape-- there's no knowing what may be the effectof a vote," Mr. Brooke ended, with a senseofbeingalittleoutatsea,thoughfindingitstillenjoyable. But Mr. Mawmseyansweredinatoneofdecisivecheck.

"Ibegyourpardon,sir,butIcan'taffordthat.WhenIgiveavoteImustknow whatIamdoing;Imustlooktowhat will be the effects on my till and ledger, speakingrespectfully.Prices,I'lladmit,are what nobody can know the merits of; and the sudden falls after you've bought in currants, which are a goods that will notkeep--I'venever;myselfseenintotheinsandoutsthere;whichisarebuke to human pride. But as to one family, there's debtor and creditor, I hope; they're not going to reform that away; else I should vote for things staying as they are. Few men have less need to cry for change than I have, personally speaking--that is,forselfandfamily.Iamnotoneofthosewhohavenothingtolose:Imeanas torespectabilitybothinparishandprivate business, and noways in respect of your honorable self and custom, which you was good enough to say you would notwithdrawfromme,voteornovote,whilethearticlesentinwassatisfactory."

AfterthisconversationMr.Mawmseywent up and boasted to his wife that he had beenrathertoomanyforBrooke of Tipton, and that he didn't mind so much now aboutgoingtothepoll.

Mr. Brooke on this occasion abstained fromboasting of his tactics to Ladislaw, whoforhispartwasgladenoughtopersuadehimselfthathehadnoconcern withanycanvassingexceptthepurelyargumentative sort, and that he worked no meaner engine than knowledge. Mr. Brooke, necessarily, had his agents, who understoodthenatureoftheMiddlemarchvoterandthemeans of enlisting his ignoranceonthesideoftheBill--whichwere remarkably similar to the means of enlistingitonthesideagainsttheBill.Will stopped his ears. Occasionally Parliament,liketherestofour lives, even to our eating and apparel, could hardly goonifourimaginationsweretooactiveabout processes. There were plenty of dirty-handedmenintheworldtododirtybusiness; and Will protested to himself thathisshareinbringingMr.Brookethroughwouldbequiteinnocent.

But whether he should succeed in that mode of contributing to the majority on the right side was very doubtful to him. Hehad written out various speeches and memorandaforspeeches,buthehadbeguntoperceivethatMr.Brooke'smind, ifithadtheburthenof remembering any train of thought, would let it drop, run awayinsearchofit,andnoteasilycomebackagain.Tocollectdocumentsis onemodeofservingyourcountry,andtorememberthecontentsofadocument isanother.No!theonlywayinwhichMr.Brookecouldbecoercedintothinking oftherightargumentsatthe right time was to be well plied with them till they took upalltheroominhisbrain.Butherethere was the difficulty of finding room, so manythingshavingbeentakeninbeforehand.Mr. Brooke himself observed that his ideas stood rather in his way when he was speaking.

However, Ladislaw's coaching was forthwith to be put to the test, for before the dayofnominationMr.Brookewastoexplain himself to the worthy electors of Middlemarch from the balcony of the White Hart, which looked out advantageouslyatanangleofthemarket-place,commandingalargeareain front and two converging streets. It wasa fine May morning, and everything seemed hopeful: there was some prospect of an understanding between Bagster's committee and Brooke's, to which Mr. Bulstrode, Mr. Standish as a Liberal lawyer, and such manufacturers as Mr. Plymdale and Mr. Vincy, gave a solidity which almost counterbalanced Mr. Hawley and his associates who sat for PinkertonattheGreenDragon.Mr.Brooke,consciousof having weakened the blasts of the "Trumpet" against him, by his reforms as a landlord in the last half year, and hearing himself cheered a little as he drove into the town, felt his heart tolerably light under his buff-colored waistcoat. But with regard to critical occasions,itoftenhappensthatallmoments seem comfortably remote until the last.

"Thislookswell,eh?"saidMr.Brookeasthecrowdgathered."Ishallhavea goodaudience,atanyrate.Ilikethis,now-- this kind of public made up of one's own neighbors, you know."

TheweaversandtannersofMiddlemarch, unlike Mr. Mawmsey, had never thoughtofMr.Brookeasaneighbor,andwerenotmoreattachedtohimthanif he had been sent in a box from London. But they listened without much disturbance to the speakers who introduced the candidate, one of them--a politicalpersonagefromBrassing, who came to tell Middlemarch its duty--spoke sofully,thatitwasalarmingtothinkwhatthecandidatecouldfindtosayafter him. Meanwhile the crowd became denser, and as the political personage neared theendofhisspeech,Mr.Brookefeltaremarkablechangeinhissensations whilehestillhandledhiseye-glass,trifled with documents before him, and exchangedremarkswith his committee, as a man to whom the moment of summonswasindifferent.

"I'lltakeanotherglassofsherry,Ladislaw,"hesaid,withaneasyair, to Will, who was close behind him, and presently handed him the supposed fortifier. It was ill- chosen;forMr.Brookewasanabstemiousman, and to drink a second glass of sherryquicklyatnogreatintervalfromthefirstwasasurprisetohissystem whichtendedtoscatterhisenergiesinsteadofcollecting them Pray pity him: so manyEnglishgentlemenmakethemselvesmiserablebyspeechifyingonentirely private grounds! whereas Mr. Brooke wished to serve his country by standing for Parliament--which, indeed, may also be done on private grounds, but being once undertakendoesabsolutelydemandsomespeechifying.

Itwasnotaboutthebeginningofhis speech that Mr. Brooke was at all anxious; this,hefeltsure,wouldbeallright;heshould have it quite pat, cut out as neatly asasetofcoupletsfromPope.Embarkingwould be easy, but the vision of open seathatmightcomeafterwasalarming."And questions, now," hinted the demon just waking up in his stomach, "somebody may put questions about the schedules.--Ladislaw,"hecontinued,aloud,"justhandmethe memorandum of theschedules."

"I'muncommonlygladtobehere--Iwasnever so proud and happy in my life-- neversohappy,youknow."

Thiswasaboldfigureofspeech,butnotexactlytherightthing;for,unhappily, the pat opening had slipped away--even couplets from Pope may be but "fallings fromus,vanishings,"whenfearclutches us, and a glass of sherry is hurrying like smokeamongourideas.Ladislaw,whostood at the window behind the speaker, thought,"it'sallupnow.Theonlychanceisthat,sincethebestthingwon't always do, floundering may answer for once." Mr. Brooke, meanwhile, having lost otherclews,fellbackonhimselfandhis qualifications--always an appropriate gracefulsubjectforacandidate.

"Iamacloseneighborofyours, my good friends--you've known me on the bench agoodwhile--I'vealwaysgoneagooddealintopublicquestions--machinery, now,andmachine-breaking--you'remanyof you concerned with machinery, and I'vebeengoingintothatlately.Itwon't do, you know, breaking machines: everythingmustgoon--trade,manufactures, commerce, interchange of staples-- thatkindofthing--sinceAdamSmith,thatmustgoon.We must look all over the globe:--`Observation with extensive view,' must look everywhere, `from China to Peru,'assomebodysays--Johnson,Ithink,`TheRambler,'youknow.Thatis what I have done up to a certain point--not as far as Peru; but I've not always stayed at home--I saw it wouldn't do. I've been in the Levant, where some of your Middlemarchgoodsgo--andthen,again,intheBaltic.TheBaltic,now."

Plyingamonghisrecollectionsinthisway,Mr.Brookemighthave got along, easilytohimself,andwouldhavecomeback from the remotest seas without trouble; but a diabolical procedure had beenset up by the enemy. At one and the same moment there had risen above theshoulders of the crowd, nearly opposite Mr.Brooke,andwithintenyardsofhim,the effigy of himself: buff-colored waistcoat,eye-glass,andneutralphysiognomy,paintedonrag;and there had arisen,apparentlyintheair,likethenoteofthecuckoo, a parrot-like, Punch- voicedechoofhiswords.Everybodylookedupattheopenwindowsinthe housesattheoppositeanglesoftheconvergingstreets;butthey were either blank,orfilledbylaughing listeners. The most innocent echo has an impish mockeryinitwhenitfollowsagravelypersistent speaker, and this echo was not atallinnocent;ifitdid not follow with the precision of a natural echo, it had a wicked choice of the words it overtook. By the time it said, "The Baltic, now," the laughwhichhadbeenrunningthroughtheaudiencebecameageneralshout, andbutforthesoberingeffectsofparty and that great public cause which the entanglementofthingshadidentified with "Brooke ofTipton," the laugh might have caught his committee. Mr. Bulstrodeasked, reprehensively, what the new police was doing; but a voice could notwell be collared, and an attack on the effigyofthecandidatewouldhavebeen too equivocal, since Hawley probably meantittobepelted.

Mr. Brooke himself was not in a position to be quickly conscious of anything exceptageneralslippingawayofideaswithinhimself:hehadevenalittle singing in the ears, and he was the onlyperson who had not yet taken distinct accountoftheechoordiscernedtheimage of himself. Few things hold the perceptionsmorethoroughlycaptivethananxiety about what we have got to say. Mr.Brookeheardthelaughter; but he had expected some Tory efforts at disturbance,andhewas at thismomentadditionallyexcitedbythetickling, stingingsensethathislostexordiumwascomingbacktofetchhimfromthe Baltic.

"Thatremindsme,"hewenton,thrustingahandintohisside-pocket,withan easyair,"ifIwantedaprecedent,youknow--butweneverwant a precedent for therightthing--butthereisChatham, now; I can't say I should have supported Chatham, or Pitt, the younger Pitt-- he was not a man of ideas, and we want ideas,youknow."

"Blastyourideas!wewanttheBill,"saidaloudroughvoicefromthecrowd below.

Immediately the invisible Punch, who hadhitherto followed Mr. Brooke, repeated, "Blastyourideas!wewanttheBill." Thelaughwaslouderthanever,andforthe firsttimeMr.Brookebeinghimself silent, heard distinctly the mocking echo. But it seemedtoridiculehisinterrupter,andinthatlightwasencouraging; so he replied withamenity--

"Thereissomethinginwhatyousay,mygoodfriend,andwhatdowemeetfor buttospeakourminds--freedomofopinion,freedomofthepress,liberty--that kindofthing?TheBill,now--youshallhave the Bill"--here Mr. Brooke paused a momenttofixonhiseye-glassandtakethe paper from his breast-pocket, with a senseofbeingpracticalandcomingtoparticulars.TheinvisiblePunchfollowed:– -

Mr.Brooke,amidtheroarsoflaughter,turnedred,lethis eye-glass fall, and lookingabouthimconfusedly, saw the image of himself, which had come nearer. Thenextmomenthesawitdolorouslybespattered with eggs. His spirit rose a little, and his voice too.

"Buffoonery,tricks,ridiculethetestoftruth--all that is very well"--here an unpleasanteggbrokeonMr.Brooke'sshoulder, as the echo said, "All that is very well;"thencameahailofeggs,chieflyaimedattheimage,butoccasionally hitting the original, as if by chance. There was a stream of new men pushing amongthecrowd;whistles,yells,bellowings, and fifes made all the greater hubbubbecausetherewasshoutingandstruggling to put them down. No voice would have had wing enough to riseabove the uproar, and Mr. Brooke, disagreeably anointed, stood his ground no longer. The frustration would have beenlessexasperatingifit had been less gamesome and boyish: a serious assault of which the newspaper reporter "can aver that it endangered the learned gentleman'sribs,"orcanrespectfullybear witness to "the soles of that gentleman'sbootshavingbeenvisibleabove the railing," has perhaps more consolationsattachedtoit.

Mr.Brookere-enteredthecommittee-room,saying, as carelessly as he could, "This is a little too bad, you know. I should have got the ear of the people by-and- by--buttheydidn'tgive metime.IshouldhavegoneintotheBillby-and-by,you know,"headded,glancingatLadislaw."However, things will come all right at the nomination."

But it was not resolved unanimously that things would come right; on the contrary,thecommitteelookedrathergrim, and the political personage from Brassing was writing busily, as if he were brewing new devices.

"ItwasBowyerwhodidit,"said Mr. Standish, evasively. "I know it as well as if he had been advertised. He's uncommonly goodat ventriloquism, and he did it uncommonlywell,byGod! Hawley has been having him to dinner lately: there's a fundoftalentinBowyer."

"Well,youknow,younevermentionedhim tome,Standish,elseIwouldhave invitedhimtodine,"saidpoorMr.Brooke, who had gone through a great deal of invitingforthegoodofhiscountry.

But not immediately: notuntil some kind of sign had passed between him and Dorothea.Hecouldnotbesatisfieduntil she knew why, even if he were the man shewouldchoosetomarry,hewouldnotmarryher.Hencehemustkeephis postandbearwithMr.Brookealittlelonger.

Buthesoonhadreasontosuspectthat Mr.Brookehadanticipatedhiminthe wishtobreakuptheirconnection.Deputations without and voices within had concurredininducingthatphilanthropisttotakeastrongermeasurethanusual for the good of mankind; namely, to withdraw in favor of another candidate, to whomhelefttheadvantagesofhiscanvassingmachinery.Hehimselfcalledthis astrongmeasure,butobservedthathishealthwasless capable of sustaining excitement than he had imagined.

"Ihavefeltuneasyaboutthechest--itwon't dotocarrythattoofar,"hesaidto Ladislawinexplainingtheaffair."Imustpull up. Poor Casaubon was a warning, youknow.I'vemadesomeheavyadvances, but I've dug a channel. It's rather coarsework--thiselectioneering,eh,Ladislaw? dare say you are tired of it. However, we have dug a channel with the `Pioneer'--put things in a track, and so on.Amoreordinarymanthan you might carry it on now--more ordinary, you know."

"Doyouwishmetogiveitup?"saidWill,thequickcolorcominginhisface,as herosefromthewriting-table, and took a turn of three steps with his hands in his pockets."Iamreadytodosowheneveryouwishit."

"Astowishing,mydearLadislaw,Ihave the highest opinion of your powers, you know.Butaboutthe`Pioneer,'Ihavebeenconsultingalittlewithsomeofthe men on our side, and they are inclined to take it into their hands--indemnify me to acertainextent--carryiton,infact.Andunderthecircumstances,youmightlike togiveup--mightfindabetterfield.Thesepeoplemightnottakethathighview of you which I have always taken, as an alter ego, a right hand-- though I always looked forward to your doing something else. I think of having a run into France. ButI'llwriteyouanyletters,youknow--to Althorpe and people of that kind. I've metAlthorpe."

"Iamexceedinglyobligedtoyou,"saidLadislaw, proudly. "Since you are going to part with the `Pioneer,' I need not trouble you about the steps I shall take. I may choosetocontinuehereforthepresent."

AfterMr.BrookehadlefthimWillsaidtohimself,"Therestofthefamilyhave been urging him to get rid of me, and he doesn't care now about my going. I shall stayaslongasIlike.Ishallgoofmyownmovementsandnotbecause they are afraidofme."